It just occurred to me that, while you know the technical side of RPing, you may not know what to RP about. So here it is.

In few words, you just write about your wolf's life. Your wolf can die, be ill, have a mate, have pups, kill itself, hunt, have a den etc... We'd better do this one thing at a time.

Dens

Every wolf needs their own, personal space, and most wolf RP sites, the best ones, have a message board called The Dens where you can have exactly this.

The den is where your wolf sleeps and where others will come to find him or her. The first thing to do is, obviously, create it. For this, you just make a new stream on the dens message board. The name of the stream should be something like 'Mirror's Den' or 'Mirror's Cave'. Obviously, you would put the name of your own wolf, but you got that...

The first post there should be you describing the den, not whether your wolf is there or not. Be imaginative. The most realistic dens are those with strange features, not just: *Mirror's den is a large cave.* Although this is acceptable, is it really the sort of place you want to live in?

The den that I am most proud of is Poison's den. Here is the description as it appears on one of her packs:

The cave is huge; deep and wide, but with just a small entrance. The roots of several trees jut out of the walls in places, making many small holes that act as sleeping rooms and storerooms. There is just one long, dark tunnel leading off, which Poison recently excavated. It leads to a huge cavern containing a small pool with an underwater tunnel leading to the Fish Lake. Poison can just about manage to swim all the way through it. However, she has covered the entrance to the tunnel with a large leafy branch, not liking having to see the darkness of it from her den.

Cool, ain't it? I love it, anyway. One of my better creations on any wolf RP site.
You will notice that there are no *'s surrounding the text. That is because this is not a usual post. It is describing the place, not the wolf. If you are confused, just put the *'s round it anyway.

After that, you can use the board to describe what your wolf is doing. If they go to sleep, it will be in here. They will also store any food that they cannot eat in storerooms.

Don't worry if you have writer's block- a simple den is fine, and you can always change it later, or move your wolf.

Mates

A mate is one of the better aspects of wolf RP. Note that you do not create your wolf's mate, but it is another RPers wolf, who your wolf loves. You do not have to like the RPer, or the wolf, but think about what sort of character your wolf would like. Your wolf may have a mate, but you do not. You have no bond with the other RPer except your wolves are mates.

You become mates by one wolf asking the other and the other accepting. This is for life. On most sites, wolves cannot date beforehand, and the only for two wolves to separate is if one dies or leaves the pack for good. After this, the remaining partner is free to find another mate. In some packs, you have to fight to get a mate, but this is not usually the case.

Mates usually share a den. One can move into the other's, or you can create a new den. It is up to you.

Wolves show their affection for their mate, and their family, but nuzzling or licking the other.

Breeding

When your wolf has a mate, they can breed. Most sites do not allow graphic breeding, quite rightly, so usually you would just say: *Mirror mates with Clarity. Clarity is now pregnant.* The same applies for the birth.

The female should be pregnant for a few days at least if there is no designated time period on the site.

Depending on the different sites, the Alpha may decide how many pups the wolves have, and what their genders are, or the parents may decide. Bear in mind that the parents have to RP the pups for the rest of the wolves' lives, or until they leave, so do not have too many.

It is best if the mother and the father's RPers have the same number of pups to RP. They should decide what their own pups look like and what their names are.

It is fine if two wolves you are RPing fall out, or if they never meet. For instance, if you are RPing Clarity and her son Vulcaleo, Vulcaleo can have an argument with his mother and never see her again in his life.

Pups will not remain pups forever. They will grow into wolves and maybe have their own mates and pups. Again, remember that if this keeps on happening, you may find yourself with hundreds of wolves to RP with! If you are having trouble with too many wolves, kill a few off (not all at once) or have them leave the pack.

Hunting

Most sites provide hunting grounds. If they do, then you can hunt. If not, I wouldn't bother. Hunting is just like fighting, except you say what your oppenent, i.e. the animal, is doing as well. Allow your wolf a few misses now and then.

Fighting

Fighting is one of the more complicated things.

Usually you will only fight for ranks, so you are not really aiming to hurt your opponent that much, just wear them down. In rank fights, the Alphas will judge as those with ranks will very rarely give up their station voluntarily. Also, bear in mind that most Alphas will often give favour to the wolves that already have the ranks, as they know them better.

We've already mentioned godmoding, but we'll quickly recap. You cannot say what has happened to your opponent, i.e. you break their leg, say all that your attacks hit and, equally, say that all their attacks miss. You can also only put in one move in any one post, and give your opponent time to respond, so you cannot say *Mirror snaps at Vulcaleo's leg, then quickly darts out of reach.* That's it. Fight fairly, remembering that you are not the wolf, and therefore any failure on their part does not link back to you, and you should always give your wolf setbacks.

More than anywhere else, you need description in fights, so that the Alphas can judge and your opponent can see a way to either dodge the attack or not. So, *Mirror attacks Vulcaleo* is not a good post. However, *Mirror slashes at Vulcaleo's face with his claws.* is perfectly OK.

I think that covers the basics. Please tell me if there is anything else you would like me to add. That was technically the last lesson, but there is just one more quickie about Advanced RP, Lesson the Finaleth.